Compliance Update: Export Control News

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in United States of America v. John Reece Roth, recently affirmed the conviction of a university professor for violation of the Arms Export Control Act. The Defendant argued that data from a phase of the project involving testing on non-military aircraft were not defense articles or services, and therefore his disclosure of such data was not a violation of the Act. The court rejected that argument, holding that the regulations under the Arms Export Control Act extend export controls to all stages of defense projects that are covered by the Act, not just the final stages when military devices are directly involved. The court also held that in order to prove a willful violation of the Act, the government need only prove that the defendant acted with knowledge that his conduct was unlawful, not that the specific items exported were on the Munitions List.